History

So that’s why many men used to oppose the idea of female MPs…

Another gem fromĀ Who Goes Home? A Parliamentary Miscellany by Robert Rogers:

There are obvious disadvantages about having women in Parliament. I do not know what is going to be done about their hats. Are they going to wear hats or not…? If you order them not to wear hats you might be absolutely certain that they will insist on wearing them. How is a poor little man to get on with a couple of women wearing enormous hats in front of him?

Rowland Hunt, House of Commons, 1913

A great example of the superficially earnest ‘but there are these details that just can’t be sorted’ type argument used by people who either want to hide their true motives or have remarkably little imagination in figuring out just how those details might be handled.

Rowland Hunt was the Member of Parliament for Ludlow from 1903 until standing down in 1918. Originally a joint Conservative / Liberal Unionist, he then, after joining the short-lived right-wing splinter National Party, became an outright Conservative MP.

The National Party is a great one for political pub quizzes: “Which UK political party at its height in the 20th century had seven MPs and eleven peers? 

2 responses to “So that’s why many men used to oppose the idea of female MPs…”

  1. With respect, how facetious was Hunt being here ? A quick glance at his family suggests that they were not adverse to women taking an active role in society. His younger sister was a DBE.

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